My Pole Position
by lumoscrimsom
Summary: Sirius and Remus are rival drivers in Formula 1. A friend recognises their apparent hatred for each other to be something else entirely. As the saying goes, there is a thin line between love and hate.
1. My Pole Position

**Disclaimer: **The boys aren't mine and F1 isn't, either…although I wouldn't mind owning a few of _those_ boys *lecherous grin*

**A/N: **Right, so. Most of you are probably a little perplexed at this fic, so let me tell you first of all that I am a _huge_ fan of Formula 1. I watch every Grand Prix and am a big fan of Kimi Raikkonen even though I'm British and we have four Brits in it at the moment (who aren't exactly doing very well), so I wrote this over the weekend whilst watching the qualifiers and the race. I think that some of the anger in bits of the fic were inspired by Raikkonen having to let his teammate Romain Grosjean pass him to get third on the podium, even though I know they had to do it otherwise Alonso would have passed and they wouldn't have gotten a podium at all but— I digress. So, anyway, in this fic Sirius replaces Nico Rosberg on Mercedes and Remus replaces Felipe Massa on Ferrari. Enjoy!

**My Pole Position**

_"And Black crosses the line with a time of one thirty-two point three four and it's surely enough to get Mercedes pole this week. Lupin has yet to finish his final lap, but I don't think he'll beat such a solid time, even though it's looking quite close at the—_Oh! _Lupin nearly comes off the track as he tries not cut the corner on turn seventeen!"_

_"I don't think he wanted to lose any more time like he did in the second sector. He knows his times haven't been up to his usual standard, but he's pushing the car too hard around the corners. The level of G-force at that speed—"_

"Lupin crosses the finish line with a time of one thirty-two point three two! _Lupin has _rocketed_ across the line with only point zero two seconds to put him ahead of Black and brings Q3 to a dramatic finish with his third pole position of the season so far. Sorry about that, David."_

_"Don't worry about it, Ben. Lupin's always been one to surprise us and today isn't any different. Black will be disappointed and Mercedes are, again, against another set-back and are yet to win a race this season."_

_"I'm sure Lupin will be happy for the moment, but Ferrari were on the radio throughout that whole last lap as…yes, as that reply just showed us. Not listening to your team will have consequences and you know from your days on the track, David."_

_"Yes, Ben. Your team see more about the car than you do when you're behind the wheel, so their instructions are important. Lupin has to use those medium tyres tomorrow, but I'm not sure how long he'll be able to last on them after that lap. Pirelli gave guidelines for how many laps the medium would last, but—"_

The sound was muted on the flat screen television and James turned on his heel to face Sirius with a scowl, waving the remote vaguely at the screen that still showed images of replays from the qualifiers. Sirius, his feet kicked up on the coffee table of the hotel room and his hands folded behind his head, sighed heavily.

"You can't keep letting that Lupin make a fool out of you." James said with feeling, setting the remote down and coming to sit beside Sirius, "He's making a mockery of you by beating your times at the same time as nearly skidding of the bloody track! I don't know what's gotten into you this season, but you're not driving well, Sirus."

"Jeez, I know." Sirius muttered, looking away from his best friend.

"Your team sent _me_ to speak to you because they can't get through to you." James continued, but then paused, "There's a rumour going around Mercedes that they're thinking about replacing you with Jenson."

"Tosser." Sirius muttered, thinking about Jenson Button from McLaren who was the world champion four year ago with Brawn GP. "Yeah, I've heard the rumours. They won't, though. I'm too good."

"You _were_, Sirius." James stressed, "You can't be so stupid that you haven't noticed your points in the driver's championship, or they wouldn't let you drive that bloody death machine. You're _forth_, Sirius. You haven't been forth since you were twenty."

Sirius squeezed his eyes closed and rubbed them furiously with one hand. After a moment of hopeful silence from James and awkward silence from Sirius, he looked up to watch his friend polishing his glasses on his shirt.

"I know," Sirius admitted, "I know I've been shit this year. It's Remus Lupin…he gets under my skin and just—"

"You can't throw this away just because you've got this ridiculous public feud with that French bastard!" James exclaimed, grabbing Sirius by the shoulders and shaking him a little, "Win that race this afternoon, okay?"

"Right. Should be easy." Sirius muttered, getting to his feet. He turned to James as he picked up his towel and bottle of water. "I'm going to head down to the gym like I was about to before you stormed in to lecture me. Coming?"

James snorted sarcastically and waved a hand at him to leave, "Yeah, right. Getting up this early just to talk to your ugly mug was enough work for me, thanks. You head down. I'll see you in the garage later."

A few hours later, Sirius could be found dressed in his overalls and his helmet under his arm, discussing his race strategy with his teammate and their team. A commotion outside the garage distracted him and he glanced over his shoulder to see a familiar figure in red overalls walking past, followed by a couple other in the same colours and a group of reporters. Sirius told his team that he needed to check on something before hurrying out into the pit lane and jogging to catch up with the entourage heading towards the Ferrari garage.

"What zee hell is eet now?" Lupin asked shortly as he turned around, expecting it to be a member of the press who had pulled him to an abrupt halt. Sirius watched the Frenchman's expression turn instantly sour as he realised who it was. "What do you want, Black? Make eet quick. My team and I take zis sport seriously and we need to be preparing."

Sirius stepped closer, near enough to the other man to be threatening, but staying far enough away for it to look like a private conversation to anyone else. Of course, the press would blow it up into anything from a death threat to a love confession, but he didn't care about that at that moment. He was used to the flashing cameras, the microphones shoved under his nose and the questions being fired furiously, so he wasn't going to be bothered by it now.

"You're on my home turf, here, Lupin." Sirius warned in a low voice, "This is going to be a fair race with no investigations."

Lupin laugh, running a hand through his blonde hair and shaking his head in amusement, "For eet to be a fair race, Black, you would need to be driving fair also."

Before Sirius could make a retort, Lupin had turned away with his team and he was instantly attacked with dozens of questions from the reporters surrounding him. With an annoyed sigh, he spun around and marched back to his garage, the press dispersing and flocking back around him as he moved, like an excited shoal of fish.

"There you are, Sirius," his teammate shouted above the noise of the team in the garage, "You can't keep walking off like that. There's talk of—"

"Replacing me, I know." Sirius finished sombrely, "I need to win this race."

"I know, mate."

The line-up for the race didn't particularly intimidate Sirius. None of the other drivers except Lupin were much of a match for him even on a bad day. The championships over the last few years had been dominated by him and Lupin, so he wasn't overly concerned that he hadn't won any races yet – there were eleven more races yet to come and he had been on the podium for all but one of the ones that had already passed, so he wasn't in any danger of truly scuppering his chances of winning overall. Lupin hadn't won a couple races so far, but he had also ranked fourth and twelfth in other races. Even so, Sirius knew that if he didn't perform today, there was a good chance the team would consider more seriously his replacement.

As he sat in the cockpit of his car after the warm up lap, checking that his crash helmet was properly secured again and that all of the dials on the steering wheel were showing the correct readings, he concluded that he was okay and confirmed as much on the radio to his team. After listening to their response, he turned his attention to the car in front and then the track ahead, his peripheral view concentrated on the lights above them and on the people clearing the track around them. Silence wasn't something often heard on the track and that was evident by the low hum of the powerful V8 engines from the other cars. A rush of adrenaline flooded through Sirius, sending his heart rate racing and his fingers clenching around the wheel in the moment of limbo.

Then the lights signalled the start of the race and he pushed his right thumb down, forcing the engine into a neck-breaking acceleration forwards. His start was slower than he would have hoped for judging by Lupin's Mercedes pulling away in front. He seconded this opinion this when he glanced in his wing mirrors to see the other drivers gaining on and surrounding him, cutting him off from making a clean turn around the first corner. Forced to swerve to avoid several cars on the inside, Sirius grunted with the effort of breaking and steering at the same as trying not to cause a collision.

Once the start of the race – the most volatile and dangerous part – was over and done with, Sirius was able to pull away from the other drivers and create what his team told him over the radio what was a ten second lead. He was still running on the medium tyres seventeen laps in when he was advised to go to the pits and change to the softs for a few laps. _What_? He thought in disbelief. He flicked a switch behind the wheel to contact his team.

"No pit stop." He insisted, "I can catch the Mercedes."

There was only a crackle over the radio for a moment as his team allowed Sirius to concentrate on steering the car around turn three and opening up the DRS before slowing for turn four, the quick changes of direction causing his neck to strain under the pressure of keeping his head upright. Once he was on the straight and watching a Force India weave to the side to allow Sirius to lap him, his team radioed back, "Negative. Pit stop now. Lupin is only ten point five seconds ahead. Lupin is coming into the pits now. Repeat, pit stop now."

"Fine, fine." Sirius muttered, concentrating on not cutting across the last turn before the pits as he had during the qualifiers and slowing before hitting the pit lane speed limiter button and entering the pit lane at eighty kilometres per hour. Coming to a quick stop in front of his garage, it felt like an age as he waited for his tyres to be changed to the softs, but when he was released back into the pit lane, he knew it would have only been between two point five and three seconds.

Once he was back out on the track again, he discovered that he was able to catch up to Lupin pretty quickly and discerned that there might have been something wrong with the Ferrari that had taken longer to fix than a tyre change. Sirius was smug at the realisation that Lupin was paying for his reckless driving in the qualifying. His moment of smugness was cut short, however, when – just as he was about to cut on the inside of Lupin on a sharp corner – a couple of cars ahead that they were about to lap collided. He wasn't sure what happened, but Sirius didn't care until he had swerved onto the grass to allow Lupin room to avoid the two uncontrolled cars. With a glance in his wing mirror, Sirus discerned quickly that the involved drivers were okay, but theirs cars most definitely weren't. A front wing and a battered nose cone were forcing other drivers to slow and swerve around the debris. Sirius sighed heavily – a safety car was on the way.

Sure enough, he passed a waving orange flag on the side of the track and soon after met with Lupin driving at a reduced speed behind the safety car. As much as Sirius despised having to go so slowly behind the silver car, it still amused him to see the way the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT had to wrestle with breaking around the sharper bends and skidded when the G-force challenged the traction of its tires; it was required to go at a certain speed to ensure the other cars' tyres stayed at a high temperature. Not to mention, with the safety car in play, Sirius had a clean shot at overtaking Remus once they were allowed to race again. With a swift check in his mirrors, he confirmed that the other Ferrari behind him was keeping its distance. Sirius listened obediently to his team's instructions to check his car stats on the wheel display as he weaved about on the track to keep the temperature of his tyres up.

Finally, the safety car left the track, signalling that the track was once again clear, and Lupin was given the decision of when to set off. Sirius stayed on his tail, careful not to get too close in mind of any investigations the stewards may try against him. He needed to win this and with only twenty three laps left out of fifty two, he had no time for drive through penalties. He would need to stay clean and hoped Lupin would, too.

Lupin took off on the longest straight on the track and Sirius cursed, knowing already that that had been the other driver's plan. According to Lupin's plan, the Ferrari sped away, its speed easily superior to the Mercedes. Sirius checked his mirrors to see Alonso closing the gap in the other Ferrari. Luckily, they reached a turn before he could be overtaken and Sirius was quick to realise that he had a chance at overtaking Lupin on the next couple of bends, his team telling him the same thing over the radio. Sure enough, a couple of turns later, he was able to pull up on the inside of Lupin. Making a decision that it was now or never, Sirius held his position and steered around the corner, pushing Lupin out wide. Lupin didn't give any space immediately, though, and there wheels made contact.

Silently, Sirius jerked the wheel to and fro to gain control again when the car jolted away from the contact. Glancing over, he briefly saw Lupin swerving and regaining control. But it was too late. Sirius was already ahead, finally in lead of the race with just under half of the race to go.

"Pits in five laps." His radio crackled, "Your front wing is showing damage and we need to put time between you and the Ferraris."

In any other situation, Sirius might have made a sarcastic response, but he was too busy driving the best he had ever driven in his life and pulling away from the other cars with every turn. By opening the DRS only when Lupin was still around the bend behind him, Sirius stopped the other drivers from gaining in his slipstream and created a substantial lead by twenty three seconds in the next eleven laps. The five lap limit for his pit stop had been and gone by instruction of his team so that he could increase his lead. When he did pull into the pits, the change of his tyres to medium again and the adjustment of his front wing took too long and by the time he was back out on the track, he found himself behind Lupin.

The gap was close enough for him to overtake within the next six laps and with two to go, Sirius was hanging on by the edge of his teeth. Lupin was on his tail, challenging him at every corner and pushing him on ever straight. Sirius held on though and when he finally crossed the finished line, he checked his mirrors and relaxed, slowing down to enjoy the roar from the stands and waving to his British supporters. He had done it – he was back on top form and he knew that he had driven a good race. They wouldn't dream of replacing him, now. Not when he had just won his home Grand Prix.

The celebrations were cut short though, when his car jolted and he lurched forwards, stopped by his safety harnesses from head-butting the steering wheel. The car spun and screeched to the side of the track where the fences were, but Sirius wrenched the wheel to straighten up before he could hit any of the running men and jerked to a stop. Furious, he undid his harness, detached the steering wheel and struggled to his feet, climbing from the tight shell of the cockpit to stand in his car and look for what had caused him to almost kill a group of workers on the track.

"Lupin." Sirius growled angrily, finding the smoking Ferrari beside his and a frantic Lupin scrambling out. He was about to ask the other man why he thought that ruining his victory with a collision was a good idea, when Lupin ran at him, pulled him from his car and pushed him over to the side of the track, where dozens of men in orange overalls ushered them into the pits. Sirius turned, confused, but his silent questions were answered when he saw smoke billowing from Lupin's Ferrari and Lupin yelling about a failed alternator that his team didn't tell him until the last minute and a gas leak caused by debris that hadn't been cleaned up properly on the track.

Before Sirius could speak to anyone, though, he was stripped of his helmet and cap and ushered away up into the room where the podium winners waited before the presentation of the trophies, with no one to answer their questions and no one to placate them. A lone camera man milled about with them, occasionally sending Sirius a thumbs up for his victory on home turf.

"What the hell?" Sirius asked no one in particular.

"Zat eez exactly what I would like to know." Lupin said in annoyance, running a hand through his hair before turning to the table in the small room and taking a long drink from one of the bottles of water. Sirius watched with narrowed eyes as Lupin started to talk with his teammate, discussing the incident after the end and the other dramatics of the race. Sirius, not exactly close with either driver from Ferrari, went over to retrieve one of the caps from the table and jammed it on his head, turning to watch the screen in the corner as it listed the results. With a sigh, he noted that his own teammate had come eighth. He unzipped his overalls and slipped it off his torso, leaving his chest and arms clad only in his white suit beneath. It was hot and he was only just realising how much he was sweating, his adrenaline dying down to allow him to notice his bodily needs.

After a while, a man Sirius didn't recognise entered the room and whispered something to Lupin urgently. When he had left, Lupin cast Sirius a derisive glance before approaching him with a grimace that might have been a smile. As he neared, Sirius' eyes took in the scar that stretched across his jaw. It was faint, having been years ago now, back when he had moved up from Formula 2, but Sirius remembered accident as though it was yesterday. He had been convinced that Lupin had been dead in his cockpit when he had watched the car flip and land upside down before scraping across the track for a few meters. Naturally, Lupin had blamed Sirius – who may have been or may not have been the real cause for the accident, it was never decided officially – who had snapped back and their feud had been born.

Presently, Lupin was holding a hand out to Sirius with an almost indiscernible sneer as he said, "I am sorry for zee arguments we has been having, Black. I believe we must not have zeese arguments any longer, no?"

"What?" Sirius asked in disbelief, "You nearly killed me out there and you want me to say sorry, I forgive you and make friends? Not likely, mate."

"I did not almost kill you," Lupin scowled dropping his hand and adjusting his cap, "Eet was my team. Zey did not see the problem wiz zee engine until zee last lap."

"Fair enough." Sirius nodded and Remus looked surprised until he added, "Don't see why you had to aim your fucking car at me when it was about to explode, though."

Lupin worked his jaw as Sirius noted with some amusement that Alonso was minding his own business and chatting amicably with the Mercedes manufacturer, before he realised that Lupin was reaching out and grabbing him by the arm.

"Zees is because I thought you caused my accident zee year I started driving," Lupin demanded, "Eez eet not?"

Sirius didn't answer – he didn't have the chance too, seeing as someone familiar with a wide grin and glasses had grabbed both of their arms and shoved them through a door. Sirius turned too late to see the door closing and hear the lock clicking. Slowly, cursing his 'best friend' James, he turned to find himself and Lupin in a small meeting room with six chairs around a square table.

"Now what zee hell eez happening?" Lupin asked, throwing his hands up in the air, "Your friends are all crazy."

"He's not my friend." Sirius replied loudly enough to be heard through the door. Much to his chagrin, the only response was the four other men, including the camera man, on the other side of the door laughing at him. "Well, shit."

"We have zee victory ceremony." Lupin snapped as though this was Sirius' fault, "We would not be in zees mess if you—"

"If I hadn't accused you of purposefully hitting me at the end of the race?" Sirius asked, his voice rising with each word, "You mean just like you did the year we both joined Formula 1?"

Sirius was surprised by Lupin marching over to him, assuming that he going to be punched in the face and be made to go out and accept his trophy and champagne with a swollen, purple eye. What actually happened, however, was quite the opposite.

Lupin grasped his shoulders and brought their faces close together. Sirius made to ask what the hell he thought he was doing, but he couldn't as Lupin's mouth was suddenly on his. A tongue was on his lower lip instantly and Sirius automatically parted them to let him in, his hands lifting to tangle in Lupin's hair. That stupid hair though which he always ran that stupid hand whenever Sirius was trying to confront him.

When they pulled apart, Lupin looked down at Sirius with a smug smirk that made him want to smack the Frenchman and kiss him at the same time. Instead, he pulled the Velcro strap at the neck of Lupin's overalls loose and yanked on it to bring them closer again. Ignoring Lupin's chuckles that sounded as surprised as Sirius felt, he looked his rival in the eye and said, "Why have we been fighting when we could have been doing _that_ all this time?"

**A/N2:** Wow, okay…I got a little carried away with the description of the race there…if any of you actually managed to read the whole thing, I will give you a doughnut. R&R if you read through the drivel of detail xD


	2. Your Drive Through Penalty

**Disclaimer: **The boys aren't mine and F1 isn't, either…although I wouldn't mind owning a few of _those_ boys *lecherous grin*

**A/N: **Yeah, okay, I get it. Too much race detail xD There _is_ a reason that I wrote so much detail though! There is, honest! Right, let's get on with it then. Enjoy!

**Your Drive Through Penalty**

"You two kissed and made up, yet?"

Lupin sprang away from Sirius as the door opened with a quite click and James stuck his smirking face through the opening. Sirius cleared his throat and nodded, l trying not to look flustered as he passed his smug friend. He heard Lupin following and threatening to run James over at the next race.

"What the hell was that?" Sirius demanded, grabbing a bottle of water and swallowing a large mouthful to give himself an excuse to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. He moved over to the door and opened it, looking at James expectantly, "Out, or _I'll _run you over in the pits."

"Fine, fine." James chuckled, rolling his eyes as he made his way out, "Just behave while I'm gone, honey."

"Anything for you, sweetie." Sirius sighed, whipping his cap off and hitting James on the backside with it before closing the door. Once silence had taken over in the winners' room at watching him pretend to flirt so blatantly with one of his pit crew in front of a camera, he turned to the other men and lifted an eyebrow, "Why are there two huge men outside?"

"Security." His constructor filled him in, looking uneasy. He glanced over at Lupin – who was watching Sirius with a slight frown – and Alonso before explaining reluctantly, "They think Lupin's car was either rigged to blow at the end of the race, or that someone in one of the pit crews covered the faults up on the systems so they weren't revealed to the Ferrari garage."

"What?" Lupin demanded, coming closer to stare at the Mercedes constructor, "Zey think zee crash was a set up? _Wait_!" he cried suddenly, holding up a hand before the man could answer, "My car…eet ees exploded?"

The constructor nodded grimly as the door to the awards podiums and they were ushered out. Sirius plastered a smile on his face as he exited the room after Alonso, Lupin and the constructor behind. The announcements were made of the winner and the runners up and the crowd went wild, being mainly British. The incidents of the race forgotten in the rush of recognised victory, Sirius pumped both fists in the air, before bending in a low bow to enthusiastic cheers from his team and supporters. He stood straight and clasped his hands behind his back for the national anthem before happily accepting the trophy and soaking his fellow drivers with a foaming bottle of champagne. He turned to Lupin, aiming to get him down the back of his neck as he had always hated, but he hesitated when their eyes locked and took a swig from the bottle instead.

B-]

"To Sirius!" someone cried from atop a table, holding a glass aloft to the dozens of men and

women who made up his entourage. They all lifted their drinks and shouted, "Sirius!" The man of the celebrations was currently sat in a booth with a few close friends, including his teammate Lewis Hamilton and James, the latter rabbiting on about a hot redhead who had just walked into the place.

"James, mate," Sirius laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder, "You know I love you, but I'm really not interested in how this woman's dress clung to her backside. Unless you get me a girl of my own, I'm going to sit here with Lewis and get him to dish the dirt on his own girl."

He said this with a joking wink at Lewis, who flipped him the bird. James pouted drunkenly before laughing suddenly – he was always the one to succumb to alcohol first between them – and slung his arm over Sirius' shoulders. "Come on then, my brother from another mother," he grinned brightly, "Go chat up that flame-haired goddess with me and then we'll get you some skirt to celebrate with, yeah?"

"Sounds good." Sirius laughed, downing the rest of his drink and following James across the club with its loud music and writhing dancers after the warm buzz from his beer had flooded his veins. He was shoved into a throng of people and ended up in front of an oddly familiar woman with flaming red hair piled on top of her head and a curvaceous body poured into a clinging dress. She turned, looking somewhat amused, to raise a sculpted eyebrow at him expectantly, lifting her wine glass to her lips. Sirius smoothed his shirt down and smiled smoothly, used to the exotic, luxurious lifestyle that often brought such elegant, rich women along with it.

"Hi, I'm Sirius." He introduced himself over the music, offering a hand.

"I know who you are, Sirius Black. Congratulations on your big win today." The redhead answered in a throaty French accent, her eyes glittering, taking his hand briefly. Her eyes flitted to something behind him and her other brow lifted. "And I also know zat zee man behind you haz been staring at me all night."

Sirius laughed, delighted by the woman's dry humour and shrugged, acting helpless, "Well then, my work here is done. I was supposed to impress you by telling you how skilled he is in the pits and how I wouldn't have won without him."

The redhead laughed as James shouldered his way past Sirius with an outraged glare, "I _am_ skilled! You never would have overtaken Lupin the second time if I hadn't released you at two point four seconds! Our fasted pit stop yet." He added as a side to the amused woman, nodding knowledgably. Sirius was about to leave the pair to it as the redhead didn't seem completely abhorred by James' presence, but before any of them could do anything, an arm wound around her waist and he realised why the woman seemed familiar.

"Salut Lily, ça va?" Remus Lupin asked as he flicked his eyes over James and then let his gaze linger on Sirius curiously, running a hand through his blonde hair. James deflated and slumped off in a huff – of course, this woman was Lily Evans, the daughter of a British billionaire and a French fashion designer. Not to mention, the girlfriend of F1 driver, Lupin. "Ces hommes cause des tu soucis?"

"Non, non," the woman, Lily, replied with a smile up at Lupin, "Tout va bien."

"Lupin." Sirius nodded to the other man politely, unable to stop his eyes from lingering on his lips. It was only when Lupin's mouth tilted upwards when he could tear his stare away and smile apologetically at Lily, "Sorry, I didn't realise you were with him. I apologise on my friend's behalf, too. He isn't usually a drunken idiot."

"Do not worry," Lily smiled kindly, "I have met him before. He eez nice, no?"

"If you're into big-headed idiots." Sirius laughed. Lily gave him a small smile and moved away from Lupin – but not before giving him a delicate kiss on the cheek – to go in search for James. Sirius watched her go in surprise, all too aware that he was now alone with Lupin. Well, if a club full of other people meant alone.

"Are you having a good time?" Lupin asked him suddenly, lowering his voice so he had to lean close to Sirius, "Zeez eez _your_ celebration party after all, no?"

"Yes." Sirius breathed, his voice coming out as a pathetic whimper. He shook his head quickly and amended, ignoring Lupin's smirk, "Um, yeah. Yeah, it's great. My favourite club."

"Ah, eez eet?" Lupin asked with a serious nod, "Eez zat why you are not dancing?"

Sirius caught the light tones of sarcasm and good humour and cocked his head to the side, lifting an eyebrow at his rival, "I haven't seen you dancing, either."

"I have only just arrived here." Lupin laughed, before pausing and taking the time to observe Sirius with interest, "I believe eet eez zee only time we have spoken togezer and have not been fighting, would you agree?"

"You're right." Sirius grinned. Making a split second decision, he stuck his hand out, "Truce?"

"Truce." Lupin agreed, shaking Sirius hand with vigour. They held onto each other's hands for moment too long, their eyes locking. Sirius wanted to kiss him again, wanted to feel that anger turned into hot passion and take him and—

"Heeeeeyyy!" James sang, waving his arms around in a vague sort-of-dance to the music as he approached, Lily and a barman with a tray in tow. "I brought shoooots! You wanna do _shots_? Do French people do shots?" he asked, the last part in a whisper aimed at Sirius.

"Of course we do." Lupin chuckled, instantly reaching out to the tray the employee was carrying and throwing back a golden shot as the rest of them downed their own. His face twisted in disgust as he tasted the aftermath of the drink, "_Baisez-moi_! Oh, c'est quoi ce bordel?"

"In English?" James sniggered with a brief grimace at his own shot, nudging Sirius and almost tripping over his feet in the process.

"What zee fuck waz zat?" Lupin reiterated, wiping his mouth with his knuckles and grimacing.

"Glitter bomb!" James giggled, taking hold of Lily's arm and pulling her towards the exit, "Come on, Siri, bring your boyfriend. I wanna show this beauty our flat."

"Don't call me that!" Sirius called after him, miffed. Lupin started to laugh and he looked over with a scowl, daring the other driver to comment on the sickly sweet nickname.

"Zee name waz what worried you in zat sentence?" Lupin smirked, lifting an eyebrow in amusement. Turning away, Sirius looked to James for help, but his traitorous best friend was already gone and Lupin had already taken him by the arm and tugged him after James and Lily with a grin. The arrived in a car park outside, where there was a bright light and something loud that sounded like…

"James…" Sirius said weakly, gaping at the thing in the car park, Lupin's hand still wrapping around his wrist, "A helicopter? Where the fucking hell did you get a bloody _helicopter_?"

"Only the best for the best." James giggled with an overdramatic wink, "I wanna show this beautiful woman our pad out in Buckinghamshire."

"Maybe that's not a good idea…" Sirius said slowly, glancing at Lupin. The only thing was, the blonde man didn't seem to have a problem with James swinging on the arm of his girlfriend and was instead wearing a small smirk that Sirius was growing accustomed to seeing.

"You do not want us in your house?" Lupin teased lightly, "The both of you live in a box, then?"

"Of course not." Sirius muttered, narrowing his eyes at James when Lupin gave a carefree laugh he had never heard from him before and pulled Lily over to the helicopter. James shrugged innocently, unable to stop himself from smiling because of the amount of alcohol he had consumed. Sirius grabbed him by the arm and shook him roughly, watching a moment of sobriety dawn in James' eyes.

"What did you see when you locked us in that room earlier?" Sirius demanded, "_What did you see_?"

James only offered his panicked friend a quirked brow and on word: "Enough."

"That buggering prick." Sirius muttered as James scampered off singing Lily's name cheerfully. He followed reluctantly and climbed into the helicopter where the pilot was handing headsets back. Lily and Lupin looked stunning against the luxurious backdrop of the leather-lined seats – it was one of those rare moments when Sirius truly appreciated how privileged he was and how much he relished his lavish lifestyle as an F1 driver.

Then the rotator blades started up and the small space was filled with a deafening noise. The other three pulled their headsets on and grinned at each other drunkenly, but Sirius didn't move to put his own on just yet. He was unable to stop staring at Lupin across from him and couldn't help but notice how good he looked in his blue-striped shirt and how his blonde hair fell into soft brown eyes. Lupin suited the life of privilege so well, Sirius felt as though he was intruding.

There was a hand on his knee suddenly and Sirius focused to see Lupin leaning close. He watched the other man's lips form words and just about managed to hear them through the din of the helicopter taking off.

"J'ai envie de toi, mon chouchou. Baise-moi." Lupin murmured, his lips brushing Sirius' ear, sending a pleasant shiver down his body.

Non plussed, Sirius pulled his headset on and watched as Lupin sat back and gave him a knowing smirk. He had a feeling his rival wasn't going to repeat himself in English – he was going to have to consult Lily when he could get her alone.

It took just under forty minutes to get to Sirius' and James' country house in Buckinghamshire. Lupins leg had been – deliberately? – resting against Sirius' the whole time and by the time they stepped out into the cool English night air, he was sweating feverishly. James instantly took off across the front lawn to let himself into the house with a whoop, making Sirius laugh and Lily smile. They hadn't been home in quite a while, being out of the country since the beginning of the Formula 1 season. Sirius, too, was glad that James had gotten such a reward.

Lupin's presence was something else entirely.

Sirius watched Lupin start off after James with a backwards glance at him. Another shiver trickled down Sirius' skin to pool behind his navel. Taking a deep breath, he shook himself internally; he was a first class racing driver, for god's sake! Yet here he was acting like a teenager over _another man_ who had a girlfriend. _Right_, he thought sarcastically, _because if he didn't have a girlfriend, I would _so_ go for it_.

"Lily." He said quietly before the woman could walk away towards the house. The helicopter took off as he led them over towards a thick of trees by the house to talk in private. He turned to check whether either of the other men had followed, letting his eyes fall on Lupin. The man was halfway between the house and the hovering aircraft, his hair flying about his face. Lily cleared her throat to regain her attention.

"What?" he asked, flustered. Turning back towards the redhead, he saw her poorly contained grin and scowled. "Look, I wanted to ask you a question." He said quickly, glancing back to the house to see Lupin disappearing through the front door.

"Oui." She nodded, "What eez eet, Sirius?"

Blinking at the familiarity with which Lily used his first name, Sirius quickly decided that he liked the bluntness of the woman and raised his eyebrows, "First, I want to know what's going on between you and Lupin."

Lily lifted a hand to her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear as her red lips widened further. She said nothing, which only worked to irritate Sirius, but he only sighed quietly and shrugged, "Fine. He said something to me in the helicopter and…well, I don't speak French and I have a feeling it was important?"

"What did he say?" Lily asked, amusement dancing behind her eyes and in her voice.

"Erm…" Sirius thought hard, trying to remember the sensual – no, _French_. Just French, nothing sensual about it – words that had spilled from between the racing driver's lips, "Now don't laugh, I'm shit with languages, but it was something like…jay onvy day twa…mon shoe shoe…" he trailed off, discouraged by the pale hand Lily lifted to cover up her laughter, but carried on regardless, "Base mwa. Look, I told you that I don't speak French, so there's no need to be so—"

"I am not laughing at your pronunciation." Lily interrupted, her brilliant green eyes twinkling in the dark, "Non, Sirius. I am laughing at what you have asked me to translate for you. I am not so sure zat Remus would want me to tell you what eet eez he has said."

"He wouldn't have told me if that was the case." Sirius protested impatiently, tapping his foot on the damp grass. It must have rained earlier, he acknowledged distantly, his eyes still locked with Lily's.

"Touché." She nodded, "Are you sure zat you would like to know?"

Sirius nodded resolutely.

"Très bien, monsieur." Lily grinned and Sirius understood that she was teasing him, so he nodded quickly, feeling like the nodding dog in the back of James' parents' car, "He said, 'I want you, my darling.' Zen he said…"

Sirius frowned in exasperation and nodded to urge her on further, valiantly attempting to ignore the acrobatics his stomach was performing at the words Lily was telling him.

"Zen he said, 'fuck me'." Lily finished with a girlish giggle that went against her image of a French sophisticate. Sirius froze, staring at the woman with his hand raised halfway from his side to pushing his hair back from his face. It was getting long again and even though he preferred his hair long like he had it back in school, it wasn't appropriate for driving, so he had to cut it to a point just above his ears which was the longest he could get away with it under his helmet and—_this is _not_ the time to be thinking about a bloody haircut_, he thought to himself angrily, _focus, man!_

"How are you saying this with a smile?" he demanded in disbelief as Lily continued to giggle in that girly manner, "Your boyfriend just told me that he wants to shag me! Oh god…a man just came onto me and I- and we- oh god!"

"You are not that against zee idea, yes?" Lily grinned, reaching out to pat the front of Sirius' trousers. Sirius yelped, jumping back from the devious woman and staring at her in shock. "Remus and I," she continued after she had had her fun, "We are…not what we seem to be, Sirius. Eet eez not my place to say, so you will have to ask Remus."

"But…he- he…" Sirius mumbled, rubbing his hands together awkwardly, "He said—"

"You both kissed, yes?" Lily asked, rolling her eyes when Sirius stared in shock, "Eez eet really a big surprise zat Remus tells me things, silly man?" When he didn't answer, she started to back away towards the house with a small smile, "Come inside, Sirius. Overthinking things eez bad for you, no?"

With that, she turned on her heels and picked her way gracefully through the grass and entered the house, leaving the door open for Sirius. He stood still for a moment, a hand covering his mouth as he watched her go. Yes, he noticed the elegant and seductive way her hips swung from side to side when she walked. Yes, he noticed the curves of her body and yes – he knew how pretty she was. So why was he more intrigued by her boyfriend?

With a sigh, Sirius headed towards the house to enjoy his night off, Lupin's words - now translated – whirling through his mind. What he didn't see was the small group of paparazzi edging towards the house, having been tipped off that Sirius Black had arrived home for a night.

**A/N2:** Jeez, I'm sorry about the French, it's not exactly a language I'm particularly skilled with... I tried, though, so don't flame me too hard. If anyone has any concerns about my use of French, PM me and give me some much needed corrections…


	3. Around These Chicanes

**Disclaimer: **The boys aren't mine and F1 isn't, either…although I wouldn't mind owning a few of _those_ boys *lecherous grin* The songs all belong to their respective artists and the Wall of Sound is a product owned by Studio Total.

**A/N: **No one commented on my French, so that either means I have a random natural talent for the language, or that no one who's read this speaks French. I'm going to assume it's the first option. Also, I've scrapped the cheesy 'French accent' Remus and Lily speak with, thanks to **New-Fanfictionaddict** talking me out of it. I'm sure it was getting on your nerves as much as it was mine. Anywho, enjoy!

**A/N2: **I have a beta! I know, about time, right? I'm still a lazy arse, though – agentrock approached me, so it's not as though I actively tried to better my writing…

**Beta: **This isn't betaed yet. I know, confusing right?

**Around These Chicanes**

Sirius entered the house and closed the door behind him before turned to take in the scene before him. James was standing atop a coffee table in the middle of the large open space of the ground floor of their home, a drink in hand as he gyrated his hips to _Blurred Lines_ and watched his reflection in the windows which replaced the wall in the kitchen on the other side of the house.

Lupin was over by the entertainment system where the Wall of Sound – a huge wall of speakers – stood, seeming to be selecting a song. Sirius watched, amused, as James pulled Lily up onto the table beside him. The woman went up willingly, kicking off her skyscraper heels and laughing as James twirled her around precariously. Snickering and grabbing an open bottle of vodka, Sirius made his way over to Lupin.

"Don't like the song?" he asked when he drew near, having to shout over the din coming from the speakers beside them. Lupin looked up and shook his head with a small smile before selecting a song and swiping the bottle from Sirius as the opening riffs to _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ filled the room. Sirius watched him surreptitiously as Lupin took a quick swig from the bottle and made a face before handing it back.

"He's pissed!" Sirius shouted unnecessarily, pointing at James who was currently warbling made up lyrics to the song and head banging. Sirius giggled and then experienced one of those strange moments in which he realised just how drunk he actually was.

"So is Lily." Lupin grinned, nodding towards Lily. Sirius looked over to see that Lily had migrated to the kitchen and was dancing in a way that should have made his trousers feel tighter. So why could he only think about how Lupin was standing when he knew perfectly well that they were only so close because the music was too loud to talk otherwise?

_You're wrong_, a tiny voice in the back of his mind said quietly. Their kiss after the race earlier flashed before his eyes quickly and those words seemed to drown out the grungy sound of Kurt Cobain's voice – _I want you, my darling. Fuck me_.

"Fuck me." Sirius cursed under his breath. He saw Lupin glance at him from the corner of his eye, but when he looked over the other man had already turned away, a small smile playing at one corner of his mouth. "What?" he demanded. Lupin looked at him and lifted an innocently questioning eyebrow. After taking a large gulp of the vodka, Sirius placed the bottle atop the speaker system clumsily and folded his arms to glare at Lupin, "Come on, I thought we were friends now!"

"Friends?" Lupin smirked, "We made a truce. I will not make you any friendship bracelets, Black."

"I don't want any." Sirius muttered, aware that he sounded ridiculous. He watched James and Lily dance until the song changed to The Blackout's _Higher and Higher_ and filled the room with a thrumming electric guitar and an urgent beat. Without warning, Lupin reached across Sirius to turn the volume up before pulling him behind the Wall. Sirius stared across at him, feeling the bass pulsating through his body from speaker pressed against his back and hearing the windows vibrating in their frames. "What are you doing?"

"J'ai envie de toi." Lupin murmured, leaning in to brush his lips against Sirius' ear. Remembering the meaning of the words, Sirius clenched his lower lip between his teeth. He wondered desperately whether he would be able to resist, despite his body's increasingly obvious want for his rival. Lupin pulled back to give him a cocky smile and run his hand through his hair in a manner that Sirius had always despised. He definitely wasn't going to be able to refuse.

Lupin was the one to initiate it again, pushing himself up against Sirius and pressing him harder against the back of the speaker as their lips met in a frenzied confusion of movement and heat. A hand snaked around his waist, fingers slipping under his t-shirt.

"_Shit_." Sirius hissed in the other man's mouth, unheard due to the music as Lupin ground his hips forward, making his excitement obvious. Deciding that he had played the submissive role for far too long, Sirius placed his palm flat on Lupin's stomach before sliding it down to his belt.

Their kiss broke and Lupin pulled back to grin drunkenly at him, looking down to watch Sirius pulled his belt open and flick the buttons open on his jeans. Lupin looked back up and met Sirius eyes, making him moan at the blatant want in the stare. He leaned forward to capture the other man's lips in another desperate kiss, not bothering with being neat and licking his way into Lupin's mouth. Succeeding with lowering his zip, Sirius plunged his hair into Lupin's jeans and was delighted to find a significant lack of underwear.

"You wanted this to happen." Sirius panted in Lupin's ear when they broke apart, keeping his hand still where it was, tangled in the hair beneath his jeans. Lupin laughed, but the sound lowered into a groan that Sirus felt against his chest more than heard as he moved his hand down further and reached its target. Lupin's hips bucked forward as Sirius moved his hand down the length of the stiff shaft.

"Merde," Lupin gasped, pushing Sirius back against the speaker again. Sirius heard the bottle fall from the top of it and smash when it hit the floor, "I'm too fucking drunk to keep up this _connerie_ about not coming too early."

Sirius' hand stilled on Lupin as the other man hurried to push his jeans down around his thighs and then do the same to Sirius'. With a gasp as the cool air, Sirius threw his head back and hit it against the back of the Wall speaker. His gasp turned into a sharp cry when Lupin closed his hand around him. He realised that he was neglecting the other man and squeezed lightly, enjoying the moan he elicited from the Frenchman. Lupin leaned his head on Sirius' shoulder, his other hand reaching around to push Sirus' hips against him, but Sirius didn't notice any of this until their hips ground together.

"Yes," Sirius breathed, a small and unimportant part of his brain knowing that Lupin couldn't hear him over the din of the music, "Again."

Lupin seemed to read his mind, grinding against him – but then he did something magical. Pulling Sirius' fingers away from him, Lupin brought his hand up to place a light kiss on the palm and then reached down to grasp both of their erections together. Sirius moaned at the sensation of another man against him and turned to bury his face in Lupin's neck, placing almost reverent kisses up and down his jaw as he worked his magic. Sirius could feel the groans vibrating in Lupin's chest and escaped his throat and knew the other man was close.

"Je jouis!" Lupin gasped and even though Sirius didn't speak a word of French, he was pretty sure what the gist was. He reached down to add his own hand to the mix, groaning when he felt the hot slickness between them. Overcome with his need for release, Sirius turned his head and went to kiss Lupin but it was too late – he was already coming, his vision momentarily clouding over and the blaring music briefly fading into the background. When he felt Lupin climax too, Sirius collapsed back against the Wall. Lupin exhaled heavily and fell against him, pressing his face into Sirius' neck as he caught his breath.

"Never done _that_ before." Sirius chuckled after a moment. He paused and added, "When did the song change?"

Lupin laughed and made to answer, but they both froze when the music was turned down until it sounded like a whisper and the lyrics to _Rude Boy _could hardly be heard. Sirius turned his head as James' voice sounded close to them, just on the other side of the speaker.

"Shit, a bottle broke!" James was giggling, "That's Sirius' favourite brand…where are they? Did you see them leave?"

"No, I did not." Lily said in her French purr, "Will you show me the upstairs?"

Sirius turned back to stare at Lupin warily as they listened to two sets of footsteps disappear up the staircase. Even though he knew they had just done something that had the potential to be very bad, he still felt awful that his best mate had dragged Lupin's girlfriend upstairs. What he expected, though, was to see Lupin chuckling to himself and shaking his head as he listened to his girlfriend's antics.

"Aren't you angry?" Sirius asked incredulously, "I'd be pissed."

"I would be a hypocrite to say such a thing." Lupin said pointedly, fixing his clothes. Sirius did the same, suddenly feeling quite sober and quite aware of what he had just done with another man. He wished they hadn't knocked his vodka off the Wall, he could have really used a drink. Lupin took a step back suddenly and stared out the window they could see from behind the Wall.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, frowning as he stepped closer to Lupin in order to see, too.

"I thought I saw…" Lupin muttered, but then trailed off and shook his head, "No, I must be wrong." He grinned at Sirius and ran his hand through his hair, "Thank you for inviting me into your home, Black."

"Yes, well." Sirius said shortly, feeling flustered. Lupin closed the distance between them again and casually placed his hand on the Wall behind Sirius' head, "I like you sound system."

Sirius looked at Lupin and saw the laugh in his eyes. Suddenly, everything felt fine, natural. It was weird – after being rivals for years, it was strange to feel so at ease in his company. Maybe, eventually, they could be more than guys who snogged occasionally. Sirius blinked and looked away from Lupin's amused gaze. He wanted…more? Christ, this was starting to get weird.

"Why don't you care that you've just cheated on your girlfriend?" Sirius asked suspiciously, folding his arms across his chest, "And that she's probably cheating on you right now?"

Lupin threw his head back and laughed – Sirius found himself smile at the sound despite himself. "You are not very smart, are you?" Lupin asked with a snort, "I'm gay, Black."

Sirius tilted his head and frowned. Gay? Well, it made sense.

"Why the girlfriend?" Sirius asked carefully, in case he offended Lupin with the question.

"I have not…how do you say it here? I have not come out of the cupboard yet." Lupin explained, rubbing a hand along his jaw as he looked towards the window distractedly.

"The closet." Sirius corrected automatically, "You haven't come out of the closet."

"Yes." Lupin nodded, turning back to smile widely at Sirius, "Because I am around the media all of the time, I must have a girlfriend or they will get suspicious."

"Why don't you just come out and get it over and done with?"

"My publicist has convinced me against it." Lupin shrugged. He checked his watched and grimaced, "Perhaps we should get some sleep. It is four in the morning and we have to be in Germany tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sleep. Sleep…" Sirius agreed dazedly, watching Lupin flash another smile at him and walk away. Slumping back against the Wall, Sirius knotted his fingers in his hair and made an odd sound that was a mixture between a breathy laugh and a hysterical sob. Before he could properly get into the deep, life changing questions about his sexuality, however, Lupin popped his head back around the speaker, his smile a noticeable degree gentler.

"You will need to show me where I can sleep, Black." Lupin reminded him with a silently questioning head tilt. Sirius nodded, answering the unspoken question, and emerged from his hiding place to show Lupin to a guest room. Or his own room – who knew?

**A/N3: **I've had a crappy week, a reviews would cheer me up ^-^ (total bribary)


End file.
